By telling people to quickly “be united” and “stand together” and “support” the president elect, you are potentially telling a person to move toward something/someone that is inherently harmful for their brain, their neurology and their limbic system. In this life, it is a smart, healthy and legitimate response to distance oneself from something that feels unsafe. It’s a sign of a healthy brain.

Every one of us have the choice to trust who we deem trustworthy (or not) and move toward people and institutions that we deem safe (or not). If we take into account all survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, abuse in the workplace/school, religious abuse and abuse in general, we’re looking at a majority of our nation’s population – it’s not the exception. So for those who are confused by the intensity of negative response to the election results, I hope this is helpful.

(And let’s remember, these principles do not apply ONLY to survivors of abuse. And this is only ONE piece of the pie that constitutes the broad and deep negative response.)

So, it is NOT our job to tell friends and family how to feel or how they should respond to the outcome of this election. It is theirs to decide. It IS our job to continue to love, support, extend grace and seek understanding – even if we disagree politically.

OK. Maybe this wasn’t exactly a “short word”….

(This post is about traumatic response and safety, not a partisan or political discussion, so please let the comments follow that line of discussion. Argumentative and combative comments will be deleted.)